Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 22.11.23 @2pm

[community-team@ebay]

Hi everybody!

The Community Chat will open at 2pm and will remain open until 3pm on Wednesday. After that it will be closed for further questions. Of course, we will continue to take care of answering any questions that may still be unanswered—We’ll get to everything as quickly as possible. 

Please ask your questions in the thread below. In order to be able to answer your questions as quickly as possible, we ask you to have one question per post. Of course, you can make as many posts as you like in the Chat- the more the merrier!

Our eBay Community Team is made up of marco@ebay, katie@ebay and anita@ebay. Between us, we have knowledge in Buying, Selling, Fulfilment, Payments, and the Community itself. Anything we aren’t sure on we’ll know the people who will be! Please ask us any questions you may have and we’ll do all we can to support. 

To ask your question, click Reply in the lower-right corner of this post, type your question, and click Reply between 2pm and 3pm. The community team will answer each incoming question in chronological order, and will quote the original question in each answer. 

Please note that any reply without a question to the community team or discussion replies may be removed from the chat. We want to keep on track to get through as many questions as possible. We welcome all discussion to be moved to the discussion boards. 

If you missed the weekly chat time, please ask your question in the community boards and tag us or we will be back next week with another chat! 

Many thanks,

Your eBay Community Team

[johannadee]

I need help regarding my one and only negative feedback as I seem to have fallen foul of the tightening up of feedback removal.

Can you tell me which part of eBay Feedback Policy allows a buyer to leave a negative on behalf of another member who has never been my buyer because he is blocked, and has by this means managed to leave a negative by proxy? The buyer stated that this negative was given, not because of the item or the delivery or indeed anything to do with this transaction, but out of what can only be described as spiteful retribution for my having previously put her partner on my Blocked Bidder list. She wrote:-

“Shame you blocked my partner from buying this because he questioned postage and best offer not very professional Sham I have to leave negative but you just plan rude”

In my 20 years on eBay I have never heard anything so outrageous. I had blocked who I now know to be this partner, though I couldn’t have known previously, because I had a sixth sense that all was not well, and this event would indicate that my intuition was spot on.

So I confidently filled out an application for Removal of Feedback, explaining that the feedback had been left, not for anything to do with this sale, but on behalf of a third person who was not entitled to leave feedback themselves because they had not bought anything from me. The response was to remove the wording but leave the red dot on my account and the explanation is as follows:-

“We reviewed your request and the buyer’s Feedback content will be removed, but not their rating. The Feedback content goes against our Seller performance and Feedback policy and our Seller protections policy, however there was no violation found in the rating.”

No violation! Really? I understood that the feedback rating is supposed to reflect the buyer’s opinion of their buying experience for this transaction. This feedback rating blatantly does not do that. Either because of persuasion, or possibly coercion, it has been hijacked to reflect the opinion of a third person regarding an entirely different matter and the rating is for exercising my right as a seller  to block a bidder unconnected to this transaction,  and not for this or any other purchase. I cannot believe that this falls within eBay feedback policy. Am I now to have a red dot on my account for the next 12 months, with no accompanying wording? In a way that is even worse, because at least before, anyone reading the feedback would have immediately realised the injustice of it, but now they are just left to ponder what sin I supposedly committed!

I had a phone conversation with Customer Services and asked to appeal the decision on the rating. I was transferred to someone who read through everything, listened to me moan and appeared to understand the problem. She said it would be referred back to the feedback department for review and that I should hear from someone in 24 hours. It is now 54 hours and counting, and nothing, and that red dot is still on my account. I cannot accept that this circumstance is acceptable within your policy.

Is there any way to escalate this further?

[louisianna]

Please can you help me to work out how to list my items with an accurate delivery time.

I know you keep saying that the estimated delivery times are working, but I can not work out how to show a listing with the actual likely delivery time.

I have currently got my listings set to 2 day dispatch. Thursdays are not a working day, so my dispatch date is showing to me as 27th November.

Date showing as delivery to my buyers is 25-27th.  And this is at a time when there are massive delays. 

It seems no matter what I change I cant have a couple of days without posting in order to meet the times being shown to buyers, so please can you help me.

[lincolnshiremarine]

Good Afternoon

Would it be possible to make a suggestion about the TIME AWAY banner, and ask if it could be made bigger or rather than static it moves across the page so buyers can clearly see it.

Thanks 

[anita@ebay]

---

@johannadee wrote:

I need help regarding my one and only negative feedback as I seem to have fallen foul of the tightening up of feedback removal.

Can you tell me which part of eBay Feedback Policy allows a buyer to leave a negative on behalf of another member who has never been my buyer because he is blocked, and has by this means managed to leave a negative by proxy? The buyer stated that this negative was given, not because of the item or the delivery or indeed anything to do with this transaction, but out of what can only be described as spiteful retribution for my having previously put her partner on my Blocked Bidder list. She wrote:-

“Shame you blocked my partner from buying this because he questioned postage and best offer not very professional Sham I have to leave negative but you just plan rude”

In my 20 years on eBay I have never heard anything so outrageous. I had blocked who I now know to be this partner, though I couldn’t have known previously, because I had a sixth sense that all was not well, and this event would indicate that my intuition was spot on.

So I confidently filled out an application for Removal of Feedback, explaining that the feedback had been left, not for anything to do with this sale, but on behalf of a third person who was not entitled to leave feedback themselves because they had not bought anything from me. The response was to remove the wording but leave the red dot on my account and the explanation is as follows:-

“We reviewed your request and the buyer’s Feedback content will be removed, but not their rating. The Feedback content goes against our Seller performance and Feedback policy and our Seller protections policy, however there was no violation found in the rating.”

No violation! Really? I understood that the feedback rating is supposed to reflect the buyer’s opinion of their buying experience for this transaction. This feedback rating blatantly does not do that. Either because of persuasion, or possibly coercion, it has been hijacked to reflect the opinion of a third person regarding an entirely different matter and the rating is for exercising my right as a seller  to block a bidder unconnected to this transaction,  and not for this or any other purchase. I cannot believe that this falls within eBay feedback policy. Am I now to have a red dot on my account for the next 12 months, with no accompanying wording? In a way that is even worse, because at least before, anyone reading the feedback would have immediately realised the injustice of it, but now they are just left to ponder what sin I supposedly committed!

I had a phone conversation with Customer Services and asked to appeal the decision on the rating. I was transferred to someone who read through everything, listened to me moan and appeared to understand the problem. She said it would be referred back to the feedback department for review and that I should hear from someone in 24 hours. It is now 54 hours and counting, and nothing, and that red dot is still on my account. I cannot accept that this circumstance is acceptable within your policy.

Is there any way to escalate this further?

---

Hi @johannadee, thanks for your post.

Only buyers, who have purchased from you would be able to leave feedback. If you received feedback from this member, they must have had a transaction with yourself and would be allowed to leave feedback sharing their experience. Having said that, without full review of transactioon I wouldn't be able to tell for sure if the feedback qualifies for removal. Can you confirm the item number and I will flag to the team that you still haven't received an update.

Thanks,

Anita

[marco@ebay]

---

@louisianna wrote:

Please can you help me to work out how to list my items with an accurate delivery time.

I know you keep saying that the estimated delivery times are working, but I can not work out how to show a listing with the actual likely delivery time.

I have currently got my listings set to 2 day dispatch. Thursdays are not a working day, so my dispatch date is showing to me as 27th November.

Date showing as delivery to my buyers is 25-27th.  And this is at a time when there are massive delays. 

It seems no matter what I change I cant have a couple of days without posting in order to meet the times being shown to buyers, so please can you help me.

---

Hi louisianna, thanks for your post.

A post about this has been posted a couple of hours ago, if you click here, you can see it and follow this guidance. For further information you can also visit the Get ready for the rush: Discover our essential delivery guide for peak season

Thank you,

Marco

[anita@ebay]

---

@lincolnshiremarine wrote:

Good Afternoon

Would it be possible to make a suggestion about the TIME AWAY banner, and ask if it could be made bigger or rather than static it moves across the page so buyers can clearly see it.

Thanks 

---

Hi @lincolnshiremarine, thanks for your suggestion.

I'll be happy to pass it on to the relevant team. Please note though that not all suggestions are implemented, however it will be taken into consideration for future updates.

Thanks,

Anita

[johannadee]

Hello Anita,

I think you have misunderstood the problem. The feedback was left by someone who had purchased from me, but the feedback she left was not about her or her purchase - it was in retaliation for me blocking her partner, and only that. Nothing to do with the purchase she made. If you re-read the comment she left it is quite clear.

The item number is 145416324471

[johannadee]

Anita,

As you can see, she was not sharing her experience, but her partner's, and he was not a buyer as he was blocked.

[renault-classicparts]

I have customer in Mexico who wants to buy an item but the global shipping program will not allow him to buy it, even though Mexico is listed as available to send too.

[lincolnshiremarine]

Hi anita@ebay

Thank you for your reply, it would be really nice if for once ebay would listen to the sellers and actually implement some suggestions.  Rather than just say "thank you for being part of the ebay family for 16 years".

I look forward to seeing the new and improved moving TIME AWAY banner.

I am happy to design it for ebay at no charge. 🙂

Best wishes 

[louisianna]

Thanks Marco

Unfortuntely I already have all that in place, but it still doesnt change anything.

My working days are listed as Mon-Wed and Friday. But Thursdays are still calculated into the equation. And cut off times dont make any difference whatsoever to what is shown either. They show the same date whether someone buys before cut off, or 3 hours after cut off.

[marco@ebay]

---

@renault-classicparts wrote:

I have customer in Mexico who wants to buy an item but the global shipping program will not allow him to buy it, even though Mexico is listed as available to send too.

---

Hi renault-classicparts, 

Could you please confirm the item number, so we can review that for you?

Thank you,

Marco

[anita@ebay]

---

@johannadee wrote:

Hello Anita,

I think you have misunderstood the problem. The feedback was left by someone who had purchased from me, but the feedback she left was not about her or her purchase - it was in retaliation for me blocking her partner, and only that. Nothing to do with the purchase she made. If you re-read the comment she left it is quite clear.

The item number is 145416324471

---

@johannadee, thanks for your reply, we're on the same page.

Thanks for sharing the item number, I'll reach out to the team and make sure they have full details when reviewing the feedback.

While I cannot guarantee it will be reviewed, as once again everything needs to be reviewed, but if it does qualify for removal the team will action it accordingly.

Thanks,

Anita

[marco@ebay]

---

@louisianna wrote:

Thanks Marco

Unfortuntely I already have all that in place, but it still doesnt change anything.

My working days are listed as Mon-Wed and Friday. But Thursdays are still calculated into the equation. And cut off times dont make any difference whatsoever to what is shown either. They show the same date whether someone buys before cut off, or 3 hours after cut off.

---

Thanks for your reply, louisianna. 

Could you please share one example where you see Thursday being included, so we can review that for you?

Thank you,

Marco

[bojangled]

marco@ebay 

I have several items, sent using RM first class via eBay postage, still not delivered a week later, each of them has the the following statement on the tracking pop up:

Due to high order volumes, deliveries may take longer than usual.

We'll update you as soon as more info is available. We'll update you as soon as more info is available.

Clearly I'm going to get defects for these as tracking will show as late. But given that statement is there is there any forward planning for allowance on EDD over the next month?

(I am actually tempted to return to good old fashioned stamps and the PO for the season, to protect my TRS.)

Jo

[spintex13]

Hi there,

I need some advise. I am a seller, I sold an item on collection and now the seller is not happy with the item. They have already had a partial refund. They did not want to return the item. They could like to have a refund of 90% or for me to collect. What does eBay suggest?

[marco@ebay]

---

@bojangled wrote:

marco@ebay 

I have several items, sent using RM first class via eBay postage, still not delivered a week later, each of them has the the following statement on the tracking pop up:

Due to high order volumes, deliveries may take longer than usual.

We'll update you as soon as more info is available. We'll update you as soon as more info is available.

Clearly I'm going to get defects for these as tracking will show as late. But given that statement is there is there any forward planning for allowance on EDD over the next month?

(I am actually tempted to return to good old fashioned stamps and the PO for the season, to protect my TRS.)

Jo

---

Hi bojangled, thanks for your post.

Yes, I saw that. At the moment, we have no information on this as of yet. However, if this changes and we decide to take actions on this, we will be letting our sellers know as soon as possible, but we have no updates on this at the moment.

Thank you,

Marco

[johannadee]

Thank you, Anita. I just hope commonsense prevails when they read what happened. It would set a very poor precedent if feedback by proxy were to be allowed, especially feedback for something unconnected to a sale at all.

[anita@ebay]

@linc

---

@lincolnshiremarine wrote:

Hi anita@ebay

Thank you for your reply, it would be really nice if for once ebay would listen to the sellers and actually implement some suggestions.  Rather than just say "thank you for being part of the ebay family for 16 years".

I look forward to seeing the new and improved moving TIME AWAY banner.

I am happy to design it for ebay at no charge. 🙂

Best wishes 

---

@lincolnshiremarine, thanks for your reply.

Absolutely, and I’ve actually seen lot of user suggestions being implemented, which is great. I’ll forward yours and would love to see if that’s something they'll implement in the future.

Thanks,

Anita